Greece: Golden Dawn still in third place in polls

Athens
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In spite of a government clamp down on Greece's far-right party Golden Dawn and legal measures to define the party as a criminal organization, the party is still ranking third in political polls.

Polls published in the Sunday press show that Golden Dawn (Chrysi Avgi) have retained their third-place ranking, despite the arrest and imprisonment of party leader Nikos Michaloliakos and several other MPs.

Defence.net cites two separate polls. The RC poll gives SYRIZA a slight lead over New Democracy, polling 22 percent and 21 percent respectively. Golden Dawn registers at 9.5 percent, well ahead of PASOK on 6.5 percent.

A second poll gives a slight lead to New Democracy over SYRIZA, with 21.9 percent and 20.7 percent. In this poll Golden Dawn drops to 5.7 percent, still higher than PASOK's 5.1 percent.

An analysis earlier in the week by the esteemed John Ward of The Slog showed a different picture. Ward reported: "Previously 100% reliable Athens sources this morning relayed to The Slog findings from ‘secret ballot’ quantitative research polling undertaken by the American Embassy there." He revealed that Golden Dawn polled an astounding 17.5%, putting them in clear second place behind SYRIZA.

Voting intentions are difficult to assess accurately as many Golden Dawn supporters are keeping a low profile while investigations are under way, with many reluctant to voice their true voting intentions.